Reverence & The Real Presence

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The year was 1542.  Communion was being served at St. Mary’s Church in Wittenberg.  Bread was taken and laid upon the tongues of faithful, pious Christians.  And the chalice was served by the pastor into the mouths of Christians kneeling. 

It was a typical Sunday Service until a woman taking communion accidentally misstepped and bumped the chalice. She spilled wine on her jacket and onto the bench rail. 

Now, in attendance at the church service was Martin Luther and Rev. Bugenhagen.  When they saw the spill, they quickly moved to the altar, and together they helped the woman clean her coat, and then – get this - they licked up the spilled wine. Yes, you heard that correctly, they licked up the spilled wine with their mouths.

Furthermore, it was reported that Luther groaned over the spilled wine, with tears in his eyes, saying, 

“O, God help!”[1]  

Now, why do I share this story?

I share this because I want us to reflect this evening on Martin Luther and Rev. Bugenhagen’s response.  Why did they rush to the spill?  Why did they help the woman clean her clothing?  Why did Luther get teared up?  Why did Luther say, “O, God help,” as he literally licked and slurped up the spilled wine on the bench rail?

Did Luther and Bugenhagen do this to help the woman?  Yes, absolutely.  

Did they do this to help clean up the mess and keep good order in the church service?  Yes, absolutely.  

But what about Luther’s tears?  How do we explain that?  

What about Luther’s exclamation, “O, God help!”  What do we make of this desperate cry?  

What about Luther and Bugenhagen licking wine off the rail?  Why did they slurp up the wine with their lips pressed to a dirty rail rather than just wipe it off with their sleeve or dab the wine up with an old handkerchief?  

Dear friends, to our modern ears, Luther’s tears, his desperate cry, and the licking up of the spilled wine may seem a bit extreme. But this is not because Luther and Bugenhagen were somehow less sophisticated than we are, nor because we are more refined or more germ-conscious than they were. No, if this account strikes us as excessive, perhaps the problem is not with Luther, but with us. Perhaps it reveals that we—as the modern church—have failed to rightly grasp what Luther and Bugenhagen so clearly confessed and believed: that in the Holy Supper we are not dealing with mere bread and mere wine, but with the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.

Please listen, this is important.  For Luther and Bugenhagen, the spilled wine was not a mere symbol spilled upon a coat and the bench rail.  For them, it was not a bare memorial meal where some wine needed to be quickly cleaned up so that the mood of the service would not be ruined.  No, Luther and Bugenhagen knew that the bread that was being consumed was the very body of Christ and that wine that was spilled was the very blood of Christ.  And so, Luther wept, groaned, and rushed to the spill – not out of superstition and not out of need to keep things orderly in the service, but he rushed out of profound reverence.  

And so, dear friends, back to our point.   If the actions of Luther seem radical to us, perhaps we have grown too casual with holy things.  Perhaps we have forgotten what it is that we eat and drink at this communion rail.  Again, perhaps the problem is not with Luther but with us and how we understand this most holy meal – the Lord’s Supper.  

So, this begs the question this Holy Thursday: what do we eat at this altar?  What do we drink at this rail?  

To answer this, we must come back to the simple words of Jesus.  

“Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

And so, we hear very clearly that the bread we eat is not a spiritual representation of Christ’s body, but instead it is the same essential body of Jesus that hung on the cross. That’s right, at this altar, in, with, and under the bread, you are receiving not a copy, not a representation, not a figure, but the very body of Christ that hung on the cross. Upon your lips, Christ’s body is truly present for you. 

And that wine, that you receive?  Well, that too is not a spiritual representation, a figure, or a symbol. But it is the same blood that flowed through the Savior’s veins and was spilled on the cross for you.  

And so, when you hear the words of institution, what is being said to you, is this:

“That which I offer to you, which you are to receive and eat, is not only bread, but also My body.  That which I offer you, which you are to receive and drink, is not only wine, but also My blood.”  

And so, let it be said that the main reasons why we gather in this church, around this altar, week after week after week, is not for social reasons, not for denominational heritage, not for life lessons, and not for nostalgic purposes, but we gather in this place to “hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar.”[2] 

Baptized Saints, as we contemplate this most holy evening, the words of Jesus and His institution of the Holy Supper, let us never come to this communion rail casually or flippantly.  May the Lord prevent us from coming to this altar as though we were merely going through religious motions.  

Listen up; straighten up in those pews.  Open your ears!  We can never come to this altar as mere spectators, for here at this altar Christ Himself comes to you and me.  Here at this altar, heaven and earth meet.  Here, the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ is placed into your mouth.  The body that was nailed to the tree and the blood that poured out for the remission of your sins is given to you right here at this altar.  

And so, this means that this altar is holy. This rail is holy.  This meal is holy.  Not because of the marble flooring.  Not because of the silver chalice.  Not because of human ceremony.  Not because of the albs that are worn. Not because of our detailed preparations.  Not because of your pious disposition but because Christ – the Divine Logos – who meets you here to forgive your sins and strengthen your faith through His most Holy Supper.  

Baptized Saints, we come before this altar in repentance, humility, and reverence, not because we are trying to earn anything or conjure up the Lord’s favor or presence.  But instead, we conduct ourselves with fear, love, and trust because Christ has instituted and invited us to this most holy, profound meal to give us forgiveness – to give us immortal life through His body and blood.    

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

___________

 [1] Johann Hachenburg, quoted in Edward Frederick Peters, The Origin and Meaning of the Axiom: “Nothing Has the Character of a Sacrament Outside of the Use” [Fort Wayne, Indiana: Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1993], p. 191)

[2] Lutheran Service Book: Divine Service Setting 4, (Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 203.